Packing.
Flying over the Kennebec Lake was an interesting feel and i is actually thankful toward opportunity to go through the watershed from significantly more than, to see and you can consider the perform which have been going towards over age to evolve the fresh new oceans regarding the shortly after astonishing and in addition immediately after tragically contaminated waterway.
Regarding Creator
9 years ago, nearly just into the go out, I might encountered the same opportunity to fly along side river following your day-long Meeting towards Kennebec organized in Waterville of the Maine Rivers, thanks a lot once more with the generosity of your own nonprofit LightHawk.
Conservation biologist Dr. John Waldman is the conference’s keynote presenter and you will entered myself on brand new 2014 flight. He’d considering their assessment of your Kennebec and its particular prospective, listing the historical past of your own depletion of one’s once-higher fisheries of your own Eastern Seaboard on account of overfishing, dams and you will toxic contamination.
One of the most powerful issues which he built to united states you to definitely day for the Waterville is the fact, regarding Labrador right down to Fl, of all of the streams moving with the west Atlantic Ocean, the guy discovers new Kennebec contains the most readily useful range of marine kinds, varieties which include Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sturgeon, short-nosed sturgeon, largemouth bass, Western shad, alewife, blue-back herring, rainbow smelt, tomcod, Western eel, and ocean lamprey. Merrymeeting Bay, a portion of the Kennebec estuary program, combines half dozen canals – a global rarity regarding steeped and you will endangered diversity.
Along side 9 ages ranging from routes, outstanding really works might have been done, like the China River Alewife Restoration Initiative; performs that totally removed three non-hydro dams and you may strung technical fishways (fish ladders) at the about three other sites. Maine Streams try a part of that work, celebrating achievements a year ago as more than 800,000 native adult alewives was measured swimming to the lake to own the first time because the 1783.
It actually was a-thrill so you can fly across the river and you may discover you to definitely below us, in water, lifetime is actually to rebuild and you can rejuvenate restaurants webs and water top quality. And additionally value honoring ‘s the current elimination of the newest Walton’s Mill dam when you look at the Farmington, in which some other load streams easily for the first time in the 240 age, courtesy Farmington voters just who accepted agreements put forward from the Atlantic Salmon Federation, plans that included park developments therefore the replacement for out of a couple road-stream crossings, to profit your regional community also Atlantic fish and you will brook bass.
The latest five mainstem Kennebec dams owned by the fresh super-energy team Brookfield will always be highly problematic. I’ve heard most of the variety of disagreement up against maintenance and you may lake repair, away from concerns you to zero seafood will benefit so you can even more strange thoughts that way too many seafood tend to get back. What exactly do researchers find concerning the advantages?
Dr. Lynne Y. Lewis, professor out of business economics during the Bates University, has just shared with me personally the brand new student thesis out of the girl advisee, Tamsin Stringer; work you to makes on the Lewis’ very own review of one’s actual-community impacts of dam elimination to your possessions values. Stringer tested individual possessions opinions observe just how proximity in order to the fresh Kennebec Lake has an effect on assets viewpoints. She examined this new varying affects having urban centers which have dams in place of locations in place of, and further requested if you have a distinction ranging from assets philosophy upstream rather than downstream from high dams. To achieve this she assessed solitary-home 
conversion process investigation out of Redfin, a bona fide property list web site, towards metropolises of Pittston, Gardiner, Farmingdale, Augusta, Hallowell, Vassalboro, Winslow, Waterville, Fairfield, Skowhegan, Norridgewock and you may Madison.
Every towns she investigated can be found on main stalk of your down Kennebec and to conduct the study she appeared at your home conversion process regarding 2017 to help you 2022, tallying full out-of 3,099 household sales. Work incorporated a regression study that have eleven variables, relating to the size of this new property and you can range towards the river.
Simply speaking, the task confirms you to definitely property owners downstream regarding Waterville’s Lockwood dam, in which the lake is free of charge streaming, all benefit from becoming nearer to brand new lake. Upstream of the dam while the about three most other Kennebec dams, brand new river and you may dams provides a negative influence on possessions viewpoints. The girl research figured the fresh new places where in actuality the dams is discover, Waterville, Fairfield, Skowhegan, Norridgewock, and you can Madison, most of the features bad thinking.
So much more are employed in the industry of business economics is still around done. Can it be done punctual sufficient to equilibrium the risks so you can the freshwater ecosystems, in which globally today a third regarding freshwater fish species was endangered that have extinction? Is the latest rebirth of your own Kennebec assemble ecological and you can monetary revitalization?